Geography Books

I'm rather obsessed with Antarctic exploration at the moment, and reading material is harder to come by than I had first anticipated. This book has many good pictures and lots of diary entries, etc, from Shakleton and others. Well worth it.

My good friend Antonia Martin just gave me this book for my birthday. Antonia, you are an absolute Treasure!

I have become fascinated with the Shackleton story, not only for the awesome testament to dogged determination to succeed in the face of seemingly daunting odds that it is, but because apparently my Grandfather knew him quite well and worked on the planning of the journey back in London. Somewhere we have a signed original of the book from 1919 amongst Mother's belongings, back in England.

This is a bone chilling visual and literary step by aching step trudge through the most inhospitable place on Earth. As the Endurance, their ship, died so their own endurance was born. And what an endurance that was!

As my eyes wander the pages in the warm comfort of bed my mind is wind-whipped by the Antarctic blasts Shackleton and his team ultimately survived! It is quite simply one of the most amazing stories it has ever been my pleasure to absorb. I am in awe of the achievement described and pictured in this book.

Everybody should read it!

In this book, Mr. Aurand has achieved the surprising: The Spectator and the Topographical City far exceeds the high quality of his book on quirky Pittsburgh architect, Frederick Scheibler (The Progressive Architecture Of Frederick G. Scheibler, Jr). Aurand leads the reader/spectator on an engrossing tour of Greater Pittsburgh that is insightful, instructive and unexpectedly affectionate from a non-native Pittsburgher. The topography he reveals is physical, metaphysical and metaphoric.

One is immediately impressed with the depth and breadth of the research this work entails. Aurand quotes sources on geology, history, architecture, art, religion, economics and more. This might seem frenetic, except for the skill with which they are used to tell an integrated story.

The book establishes and elucidates the spectator/topography relationships in three principal locations: Downtown Pittsburgh, the Turtle Creek Valley and Oakland. Aurand traces how the natural and man-made topographies continuously shaped one another. He takes the reader through these iterations in the (now) downtown triangle as it morphed through centers of the spiritual, military, residential, industrial, religious, governmental and corporate. Appropriate attention is paid to the city's most important architectural landmark, Henry Hobson Richardson's Allegheny County Buildings.

The story of the Turtle Creek Valley is typical of many industrial centers in the region. Aurand makes it plain, though, that the tale of this production center for iron, steel, railroad and electrical equipment must be told on a heroic scale. Here he deftly weaves history in terms of men (Carnegie and Westinghouse) and movement (industrialization). This is the setting for some of his most picturesque language, especially in evoking the power the great steel mills.

By contrast, Oakland (a section of the city to the east of Downtown) and its surroundings became the locus of cultural and academic institutions, skipping the industrial phase of the other two locations. This account is presented with a concentration on the work of Henry Hornbostel, one of Pittsburgh's most skilled and beloved architects. Here, at two great universities, we learn the topography of large scale architectural design. One can argue that the city's eastern reaches succeeded Downtown as a religious center. In addition to Hornbostel synagogues, it boasts three churches by Ralph Adams Cram, one by Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue and one by the immediate successors of Richardson.

The author makes excellent use of art and photographs. The convenience of illustrations visible from their reference in the text is most welcome. The size of illustrations, especially in the case of topographical diagrams, is somewhat small for ideal clarity. Perhaps that is just the engineer in the reviewer talking.

This book will be especially appreciated by those who know something of the history and architecture of Pittsburgh. However, it would be an ideal introduction and basis for a general study of the city's architecture. (Ironically, Aurand's work on Scheibler - a particular architect in a particular era and a particular section of Pittsburgh - was this reviewer's first serious book on architecture.) The value of the book extends far beyond Pittsburgh, though. The author teaches a new way to see topography, in all the forms he reveals, which is invaluable in the study of any architectural context.

Mr. Aurand is an architecture librarian (at Carnegie Mellon University) and brings to this analysis of the city of Pittsburgh an understanding of how the growth and development of the city has been influenced by topography of its location. This book is a collection of illustrations (paintings, drawings, photographs) of parts of the city, concentrating on three areas: Downtown's Golden Triangle, the industrial Turtle Creek Valley, and the cultural and university district of Oakland.

Pittsburgh has a long and varied history. It began as a transportation center as it is in the upper reaches of the Ohio river which begins at the confluence of the Allegheny and the Monongahela. Subsequently Pittsburgh became the quintessential industrial city, and after that a pioneer in the development of a sustainable, green city.

Mr. Aurand presents a rather different view of the city as he discusses the development of the city through its topology.

Guide books to Ethiopia are few and far between. However, the Spectrum Guide is all you will need to get an accurate glimpse into this far-away and often misunderstood land just now beginning to be touristed by the outside world.

There are section that cover almost every aspect of Ethiopian life: places, history, geography, food, art, religion, visitors' needs, wildlife, are just a few. The book is profusely illustrated with 200 gorgeous full-color photos abounding from practically every page.

If you are planning a trip to Ethiopia or just interested in learning about the culturally-3000 year old part of our world, once known as Abyssinia, then do pick up the Spectrum Guide to Ethiopia and get carried away to the exotic!

I think it goes without saying by this point, but this is by far the best book you could buy about travel in Ethiopia, I've read it about 3 times over now and I still really enjoy it. Theres not much out there about travel to Ethiopia, but even if there was, this book would stand head and shoulders above the rest

This guy names names and details how these "sprawl shills" influence small town zoning boards and other manipulated gov't agencies. Besides the warning horn that Dr Hirschorn sounds for all of us to kill sprawl before it kills us, I would be a little concerned about reprisals if there's that much money at stake. A good read though. Entertaining and surprisingly useful. If we don't do something soon we'll be out of land in 25 years-- unless you want to live in Montana.

The other books on suburban sprawl never seem to have been written for real people facing tough decisions on where to live. For once, this is a book that tells the truth about why nearly all Americans have little choice other than suburban sprawl for affordable housing. But once you understand the many personal costs of living in "blandburbs" - which is the best word yet for describing suburbia - and have the clear guidance on what Healthy Place alternatives to look for and how to evaluate them, then you have gotten your money's worth. Sprawl Kills is so much more than a description of suburban sprawl; it is all about understanding the corrupt forces limiting our housing and transporation choices, and all about what the commonsense solution is for Americans. I really liked the material on the sprawl industry and sprawl politics, and all the facts about the negative physical and mental health effects of a sprawl lifestyle. This book will help me escape sprawl - finally!

Ever want to press the "easy" button in your homeschool? This workbook accompanied with the statebook is your answer. The great thing about it is that it comes with a reproducible cd-rom, so you have pages for each child.

It is a 4-day approach, so you get one day off each week. For example, Lesson 2.1 teaches about Arkansas, Lesson 2.2 teaches about California, Lesson 2.3 teaches about Colorado, and Lesson 2.4 is a review and simple quiz about these 3 states. So you are learning 3 new states per week. OR, you can just go at your own pace, which we often did.

I would print out each week's lessons, and my kids (grades 1, 3, and 6) would work on them pretty independently for a good 20 minutes. (Answers to quizzes are in back.) They would get excited and start reading the state facts to each other and helping each other answer questions.

My kids each had their own 3-ring binder to 3-hole punch their lessons each day and insert into the binder. Then when studying for a quiz, they could study and quiz each other from their filed sheets.

I recommend the two books together. Very teacher-friendly. If we needed more info. on a state, it gave them an incentive to look it up and read more.

I've searched high & low for a book that "clicked" for my daughter.
The simple, well organized format and colorful text got her attention.
The precise facts were short & sweet enough for her to remember without long angonizing hours of study. The information encouraged further exploration via library books and internet searches. The word scrambles, game & quizes provided a spiral review which resulted in an A+ final exam. Great for elementary students!

I recently received my copy of the Star-Spangled Workbook and Star-Spangled State Book. I purchased these books for my children aged 8, 6 and 4 for a study about the 50 states. I am VERY excited to begin our journey! These books are a great way for the kids to learn and retain facts about each of the states. My older kids will be able to utilize the workbook -- but I know the 4 year old will listen and learn as well. These are well put together, colorful and chocked full of fun facts. There is a built in review called the Geoquiz which will help the kids retain capitals, shape of the states, neighboring states and trivia about each state. I am very pleased with my purchase:)

This book reveals the inner thoughts and feelings of those we hold close. It is thought provocing - and hits a chord with children, and adults alike - that you never really loose touch with those that mean alot to you...they are there and always will be. Thank you Claire for your insight.

We read this book over and over when my boys were smaller. Even if a child's grandparent is just one state over and not separated by an ocean, children miss their grandparents. To have the reinforcement that the stars they see are the same ones that their grandparents see is a comfort. My sons loved to see how the grandfather and grandson worked together to make a meal and commented that both the grandfather and grandson would miss the other. The story is sweet and simple, making it wonderful book for bedtime reading. The pictures are soft and gentle. The pictures of the American beach were nice to compare to the pictures of the Egyptian countryside.

I read this book, and it is GREAT! It shows great maps that are easy to understand. Even my kids love to look at this book.

I use this book with middle school kids. It is useful to make clear the variations between nations and peoples of the world. Examples: how old is your nation? Which nations sell or buy tobacco? Where are children poor or uneducated? What other nations have rights like ours?

This book is part of an excellent series of non-fiction books for children on cultures from the past. While the title of this edition states "ancient", the focus seems to be on the period of the bushido and samurai (it does briefly cover the Jomon period). Fiona Macdonald did a great job, as usual.

There is an abundance of beautiful, full-color pictures (mostly photographs, but a few illustrations) of famous art, buildings, and maps on every page. Each two page spread covers a specific topic and is organized with a paragraph or so of text surrounded by the photographs with interesting facts or expanations. It does not appear too cluttered and again, these pictures are almost entirely real examples of the culture, not just illustrations. A descriptive timeline with is also included on the preliminary pages. The glossary and index are useful too.

Fifteen do-able activities/crafts/recipes are found throughout the book: samurai helmet, shell game, rice balls, carp streamer, screen painting, homemade paper, Noh mask, votive dolls, ikebana flower arrangement, fan, fox netsuke, origami box, calligraphy, kite, and clay tea bowl.

NOW FOR THE IMPORTANT PART...this is out of print, but apparently the publisher joined this title by Fiona Macdonald with Step into the Chinese Empire Chinese Empire (Step Into Series) by Philip Steele to forge a 128 page book called SWORDS AND SAMURAI. I've ordered it Swords and Samurai: The Ancient Warrior Culture of the East and hopefully my information is accurate!

I also highly recommend Exploration into Japan (Exploration Into) for a more in-depth, yet still interesting history of Japan for kids. If you're looking for more crafts and some info, try Japan (Make it Work! History). Also, The Japanese (Ancient World) has some good information about the culture of Japan as well.

This book is an amazing resource book for a teaching unit onJapan. It is written with consultants from the Japanese Festival Society. They have arts and crafts ideas that are easily made by children.

This is a great book. I've read some neat interesting facts from it. It's short enough that you can find what you're looking for, but it still has so many great illistrations and details. The charts in this book are the greatest; easy to read and understand. Many pictures and stories from around the world. I would highly reccommend this book!

Storms and Hurricanes Summary: Another winner in the usborne understanding geography! Teachers and students alike, GET this series. What a wonderful tool for assisting in thematic units dealing with storms and locations. It tells why lightening is jagged, where hurricanes come from, and what happens inside the storm. It covers everything from thunderstorms to cyclones. It even shows you ways to introduce monitoring storms, predicting and tracking, forecasting, and even outlines how the pros do it! Anyone, young or old that is fascinated by storms or storm patterns will want this book for your own!

This is one of my top five most influential books. I got it first in mid-80s and have used up my copy. Recently bought a used, library discard of a hard cover copy.

It's central feature is a series of maps. The world map is centered on the North Pole, which illustrates world geography in a way no one else has. Any world map must deal with the distortion of flattening a curved object, and this projection throws most of it into southern oceans.

Each region is covered with seperate maps. The section on Iraq absolutely predicts the mess we are in right now.

Buy this book.

Despite our belief and reliance in high technology systems and weapons, geography and population still remain the main determinates in local, regional, and global issues. This book profoundly illustrates these truths and shows us the participants point of view - from their geography and their politics. Looking from their position in the world it is very easy to understand why remote and unknown locations in the world are pivitol to the strategic interests of the West, Russia, China, and Islamic nations.